The Gift following Breaking Dawn
by Willowby
Summary: The Cullens want to thank the wolf packs for helping defeat the Volturi. But what can you possibly give your former enemies for saving your entire family? A sweet bit of fluffy fun... One-shot


It had been only three months since the Volturi had come to destroy us. We'd stood our ground with our vampire friends; some who were willing to fight and die with us, some who would not fight, but still risked their security by giving witness to the truth -- that my daughter was half human, half vampire and not an immortal child as the Volutri had presumed. Those of us with special talents were able to protect our group, and yes, I was given far more credit than I deserved for my newly-discovered ability to extend my mental shield over our comrades, defending them from the Volturi's most powerful weapons, namely Alec and Jane.

I was pleased that my participation was a benefit this time, rather than the hindrance I'd always been in the past.

If it had just been us, we still might have been attacked and defeated except that the balance of power had been tipped by the 16 enormous werewolves flanking our party. They provided the Volturi with an extra incentive to accept that we had not broken any of their laws and walk away without a fight.

The two Quileute wolf packs had stood with us, fought beside us against the newborn army, and protected our family when their natural instinct, in fact their sole purpose for existence, was to kill our kind. We counted them among our friends now, and they had grown to somewhat trust our family -- not vampires in general, of course, but the Cullens at least. We had proven ourselves to be no threat to their tribe, and in fact, we had been able to help them, primarily by providing them a doctor who wouldn't question their extreme body temperature, and who made housecalls.

After the retreat/defeat of the Volturi, we wanted to thank both Sam's and Jacob's packs in some tangible way, to honor their bravery on our behalf. Jasper, ever pragmatic, thought we should just give them a bunch of cash, but I'd argued that was far too impersonal a gift. It was my new mother-in-law, Esme, who'd thought of the perfect thing. So we worked tirelessly, all of us, even Rosalie, much to her chagrin, to create something we thought would be meaningful. The end product was truly stunning. Our hope was that the wolves would agree.

Jacob and his pack had been banned from a one-mile radius of the project zone. Seth, Quil and Embry were as curious as Jake, but Leah didn't want anything to do with it. She was just as annoyed as ever to be on the Cullen's property full-time. Jacob wouldn't ever be far from my daughter, Renesme, now that he had imprinted on her. That meant his pack would be in the vicinity for the duration. And even though there were no more immediate threats to our safety, Jacob insisted his pack run routine perimeter checks around the Cullen's property and beyond. Nothing could be safe enough for his "Nessie," as he and everyone else insisted on calling my baby. Even I caught myself using the nickname from time to time.

In his most beautiful handwriting, Edward had written two invitations, one for Jake and one for Sam.

You are cordially invited to attend a celebration in your honor to commemorate our recent victories over our mutual enemies. Mere words cannot express our gratitude for your service on our behalf. Therefore, we have a special gift for you. If you prefer to attend in wolf form, you may wish to come prepared to phase back. It is completely your choice, of course. Come as you feel most comfortable.

Date: March 30

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: The Cullen Home

Attire: Casual

Please RSVP to Bella Cullen

Now that the project was complete, we were ready to make the presentation. I didn't think the 30th would ever come, but it was finally almost time. Jacob and his pack were there already, in human form.

"Nessie, what's the surprise your mommy is hiding from me?" Jacob asked, trying to get some insider information.

My little girl reached out to Jacob, putting her hand on his face. She'd promised not to tell, so I couldn't imagine what she was doing.

"Very funny, little missy," Jacob laughed as he tickled her. She was clearly amused with herself.

"What did she show you?" I asked.

"Nothing..." Jacob said, trying not to smile.

"OK, Renesme, tell mommy what you showed Jacob."

Her face sported a huge grin as she squealed "Big pink dog collars!"

Renesme broke into a full laugh, and I had to join her. "Good one, baby girl," I congratulated her, holding out my hand for a high five.

"Great, Bella. You give me grief all the time and now you're teaching Nessie to do the same!" Jacob bellowed before snagging her out of my arms and throwing her up in the air higher than any mother should allow her six-month old to be thrown. There really was nothing to fear. I knew Jacob would catch her no matter what. If he missed for some reason, my reflexes were more than fast enough to react, and if worst came to worst, she would simply land on her feet with perfect grace.

From the highway, I heard a loud diesel pickup truck turn onto the drive, so I knew Sam plus ten would be coming in human form as well. This pleased me, as it was a sign of trust.

My family and Jacob's pack all gathered on the front porch to greet our guests. As they pulled into the clearing in front of the house, it was apparent some of them still felt ill-at-ease with a social visit to the local vampire's residence. To my surprise, Emily was with them. I dared to glance at Leah, who stood well away from everyone else. There was a sadness to her face, but when she noticed me looking at her, she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, the sadness replaced by some form of disgust. I looked away quickly.

Once the eleven giant boys and little Emily unloaded from the huge truck, there was a lot of hand-shaking and pleasant greeting. I imagined Sam had told his pack to be good guests. Paul wouldn't have ever touched Jasper or Emmett unless he was ordered to. Sam shook hands with Carlisle, while Emily gave Esme an awkward, but well-meaning hug.

We gathered on the lawn and Carlisle, in his always eloquent and hospitable way, welcomed the guests.

"Thank you so much for honoring us with your presence this evening. You're probably all tired of us saying 'Thank you' so many times, but for all you've done, for the sacrifices you've made and were willing to make, it never seems like we can thank you enough. And there I said it again," he chuckled, as did the rest of the group.

"Words have never seemed sufficient, so we, or more precisely, my lovely wife, Esme, thought of a more practical way to show our appreciation. This is going to require a bit of a hike, but our destination is not too far. It's about two and a half miles to the west, between here and La Push."

A few of Sam's newer pack members, the youngest and least experienced, looked nervously at each other. The tension was suddenly palpable. I could only imagine what they were thinking -- the vampires were taking them on a long, one-way walk. Carlisle picked up on it immediately and was set to respond when Sam spoke. "I trust Carlisle. Do as you like, but I'm going in human form."

I knew Sam's statement was sufficient. If he trusted us, his pack would, too. However, I quickly interjected, "Besides, you outnumber us two to one! Unless you don't like those odds..." I added with a chuckle. Laughter erupted as the wolf-boys realized their concerns were really unnecessary.

"So, who do you want to carry you," Jacob asked Renesme. "Daddy?" He frowned. "Mommy?" He frowned even more. "Or," he openly encouraged, "do you want your best buddy, Jacob, to carry you?"

Renesme put her little finger up to her lips, appearing deep in thought. She smiled and yelled out, "Aunt Rose!"

Again, laughter filled the space beneath the tree branches as Jacob grasped at his heart, pretending to fall down like he was deeply wounded. "Nessie! You're killin' me here!"

"I wish it was that easy," Rosalie hissed as she moved to take Nessie from my arms.

Jacob popped up from the ground and snatched Renesme away from me before Rosalie got there. He hugged Nessie tightly, kissed the top of her head, and purposefully exhaled into her hair.

Rosalie was furious, which of course was the point. "Now she stinks like dog! You are so vulgar. Why don't you go to obedience school and learn some manners!"

"Hey, Blondie! Why do blondes wear green lipstick?" Jacob taunted. "Because red means stop."

Rose hissed at him again as another wave of guffaws broke out. She angrily took Renesme from Jake's arms, muttering something about giving her _just one reason... _

Carlisle asked, "Is everyone ready?" as he motioned for us to head out. The Cullen family led the way, followed by Jacob's pack, with Sam's group taking up the rear. Sam carried Emily as we would be moving too fast for a regular human to keep up the pace.

It was a pleasant ten-minute jaunt before we slowed. As we came to the final bend, Carlisle turned and spoke again. "May I present to you... Black's Lodge." We entered the newly created clearing near the river where the beautiful, barn-shaped log structure stood. The vampires beamed with pride. The werewolves stared with confusion.

Esme began to explain. "There was a brief time when Jacob, Seth, and Leah were without a home. We offered ours, but I understood that our... scents... weren't exactly compatible." Murmurs and snickers broke the silence. Esme continued. "When we talked about ways to show our appreciation for everything you've done, I thought we should build you a 'home away from home.' Since Jacob practically lives with us now," (more snickers), "we decided he should have a place of his own, and thus and his pack friends would need a place, too.

"The design is loosely based on your ancestor's Longhouse. I worked with several members of your tribe to bring some traditional aspects into the artwork and architecture. It appears nobody revealed the secret to any of you!" she said with a twinkle in her eye, as the Quileute boys looked on in bewildered wonderment. Leah still didn't seem impressed, but this had become an expected response.

Esme pulled open the large double doors and herded everyone into the Great Room. The central feature in front of us was an enormous stone fireplace that Rosalie and Emmett had built from river rock. Twenty-foot tall totems stood in the two corners on either side of the front door, and large tapestries and paintings were displayed on the walls. Deep brown and forest green leather sofas and recliners were placed in conversational groupings around the room. "If you'll notice, the framed woven rug on the wall above the door is the same one from the floor of Ephraim Black's tribal lodge," Esme glowed. She loved her antiques.

"We want you to treat this place as your own, because it is yours," Carlisle said. "If any of you want to live here full-time or use it as a clubhouse or burn it to the ground, it's completely up to you. And we will not enter without permission, unless Nessie is in here and we have to in come get her," he added as he reached to stroke his granddaughter's cheek She smiled at him adoringly. .

Esme led the way to the huge kitchen, where curiosity got the better of the Quileutes. They were all chattering about the "cool" stainless steel, commercial-grade appliances as they spread out to peek in cupboards, walked into the stocked pantry, and Seth and Embry opened the refrigerator and extra-large freezer. "There's about a billion pounds of food in this place. I've seen you guys eat and I figure this should last a couple of days, right Emily?" I mused, giving her a wink. She nodded, seeming a bit awestruck.

Next, we went upstairs to a large open loft spanning the entire back half of the house. The far wall was all windows. Game systems, TVs, and computers lined the two side walls, and the wall nearest the stairs held a massive projection television with surround sound and an impressive library of DVDs. Jacob hollered, "Now we're talkin'! This is awesome!" He mock punched Edward and they shared a genuinely friendly smile.

Everyone apparently had to look at and touch and ooh and ahh over everything. I'd figured this room would get a lot of use, but even I wasn't prepared for the level of excitement it caused. Even Emmett, who knew about the room, enthusiastically chatted with the werewolves about the various games.

"Boys..." Rosalie muttered, although she could hardly keep a smile off her face watching Emmett run around like a child at Christmas.

I cleared my throat rather loudly. "Ummm.... there's still more to see. You can come back later and spend as much time as you like here, I promise." Somewhat begrudgingly, the group continued with the tour.

Edward addressed them as we descended the stairs. "I don't know if this was necessary or not, but we built a pole barn out back with straw bedding, in case you wanted to stay in wolf form while you're here. It's a small thing, really, but I hope you'll find it a worthwhile convenience."

"My husband..." I sighed, "he is nothing if not thorough." We smiled at each other as the others murmured in approval.

We walked down the long, wide hallway, opening doors to the many bathrooms and bedrooms. Some rooms were private and some had several beds in a room. If they were going to use it as a bunkhouse, we figured they should have some bunks. We stopped at the last door before the exit to the backyard.

Now it was Alice's turn to shine. She had a special presentation to make. "Leah, I know you don't like us, and I completely understand. Even so, I especially wanted to make sure you had your own room, being the only female in the group. Your mom and I teamed up to design your perfect bedroom with a walk in closet and full bath with a spa tub and everything. I didn't touch anything in there. Your mom and Brady's mom handled all the decor, so you shouldn't have any vampire scent to worry about.

"We picked out a new wardrobe for you, too. Sue and I had so much fun! I bet you didn't know your mom likes to shop." Alice spun around to look at the rest of the troops and said in her most serious tone, "And no boys allowed. Without permission, of course." She smiled a charming smile and turned back to Leah, waiting for a response.

Leah stood there, mouth agape, looking puzzled by what she'd just heard. "You... and my mom...? My own room...? Can I see it?" Alice motioned for her to open the door with the little heart-shaped sign that read "Wolf Girl," which was Sue's joke with her daughter. Leah cautiously pushed it open and flipped on the light. I hurried to Alice's side for a better view. Leah slowly moved from one thing to the next, touching everything like she didn't believe it was real.

"It's the room I dreamed about... with my mom..." she whispered. "Alice, Bella, come see." We looked at each other, baffled by her invitation.

"Are you sure, Leah? We were so careful not to get any vampire smell in there," Alice reminded her.

"Yes, come in. Please," she quietly urged.

We shrugged and timidly entered the forbidden zone. Alice and I had both seen the entire house. We'd both helped build it; however, nobody but Sue and Brady's mom had seen the inside of this room. It was truly breathtaking, from the delicate canopy draping over the wrought iron bed to the small sitting area to the rich artwork on the walls to the intricately woven area rug covering the wood floor.

Leah stepped into the closet, touching the racks of clothes as she moved around the ample room. "Wow..." she breathed, mesmerized by the closet the way Alice had hoped I would be. Leah's attention turned to the bathroom. "I've never had a big tub before," she murmured. "I've always wanted one. Everything is so... beautiful. And perfect."

If I didn't see it myself, I would have never believed it. Leah started to cry. Then she started to sob... deeply. She stumbled toward us and flung her arms around Alice's neck. "Thank you... so much. I don't even... know what... to say..." she managed to get out between ragged breaths. "And... after how... mean... I've been... I'm... so.... sorry. Alice... Bella... can you... forgive me... for all....those terrible things... I said to you?"

Now I was in on the hug. After my initial shock, I softened and saw that Leah's entire demeanor had changed. She had been so hardened, so broken... by the loss of her father, the loss of Sam, the loss of her privacy... She wanted to have a special someone and didn't know if that would ever happen now that she was a werewolf. She, herself, had become lost. Lost in bitterness and hate. This gesture from Alice, of all people, seemed to tug on that bitter root and loosen it just a little.

Leah led the way as the three of us, arm-in-arm rejoined the others in the hallway. "Esme," Leah sighed as she broke away from us and ran to the very startled vampire, throwing her arms around her, too. "Thank you for this... for everything..." The sobbing was subsiding, but the tears kept pouring. She hugged every member of my family, even Rosalie, who clearly wanted no part of it, but Esme gave her a warning glance to behave herself. Rose obliged and even managed to fake a fairly realistic looking smile.

"I want to live here," Leah suddenly exclaimed. "Can I, Jacob? Can I?"

"Well, sure, if your mom says it's OK," Jacob answered. "You know I'll be living here, too, right?"

Leah laughed now. "It's a big house. I think we can manage to stay out of each other's way."

"Can I live here, too?" asked Seth. "Mom spends most of her time with Bella's dad these days, and if you're going to be here, Leah, maybe I could just stay, too. Besides, you need me to keep an eye on you." He winked at his sister as she rolled her eyes.

Sam started to speak at the same time Jacob did. "Go ahead, Jake," Sam deferred to his friend.

"Thanks, Sam," answered Jacob, who then turned to address the entire Cullen family. "All kidding aside, I don't even know what to say about this place. It's... so much... _more_ than any of us ever imagined. It really is _too_ much. You must have spent a fortune! I'm not sure how to accept it, or even if we _can_ accept it, to be honest."

"Nonsense," Edward countered. "I personally owe you for saving Bella's life a dozen times over, and each of you put your life on the line to protect my daughter. I know your reasons had nothing to do with me, but the result is the same. This is but a mere token of our appreciation. And please don't concern yourselves with the cost. It's really nothing."

Jacob was still obviously unsure. "Well, Sam, what do you think?"

Sam smiled. "I think the Cullens went to a great deal of effort here. They even involved our families. I think we should be gracious and accept their gift, even though it is entirely too generous."

Jake sheepishly approached Edward. "Okay, okay...," he muttered, offering to shake on it. Edward readily accepted his hand, but Jacob took it one step further, pulling Edward into a sincere embrace. "Thanks, dad," Jacob said with a laugh, one that was shared by everyone.

Nessie suddenly wanted me to hold her. I took her from Rosalie's arms as she impatiently put her hand on my cheek.

"You want to know why Jacob just called your daddy 'dad'?" I asked. I knew I couldn't exactly explain it to her, so I simply said, "You'll understand in about seven or eight years."

"Or fifty," Edward added a little too scornfully.

"We'll see," Jacob replied, nudging Edward in the ribs. Despite himself, Edward had to smile. I'm pretty sure I was glowing as I watched the two most important men in my world showing genuine fondness toward each other. I would remember this as one of my best days ever.


End file.
